


The Sugar Rush, The Constant Hush

by Rays



Series: Into the Given [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Child Abuse, Gen, Pre-Canon, Recreational Drug Use, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Shoplifting, Sneaking Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22854472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rays/pseuds/Rays
Summary: Reginald was out of town for a few days and sneaking out without the risk of getting caught by him did take away some of the fun sneaking out provided. So logically, Five concluded, shoplifting was the simplest solution.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Into the Given [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651621
Comments: 30
Kudos: 301





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song Mary by Big Theif
> 
> So, I'm working on a much longer fic that this was originally supposed to be a part of. It's a fic that will include flashbacks to the sibling's childhood. These particular flashbacks though I just wanted to flesh them out and let them stand on their own and hopefully give more to the story I am trying to tell. 
> 
> This is my first time writing for this fandom so I am a little nervous but I hope you enjoy it!

Five narrowed his eyes as he watched Deacon, the man behind the counter, turn another page of his magazine. Deacon was the owner of the convenience store that was just around the corner of the academy. It was also one of the only stores to be open this late at night, making it the perfect place.

 _Not yet._

Five bit his lip as he strained to hear what was happening over the howl of the wind that blew past and rattled the leafless branches of the tree next to him. Klaus had gone in three minutes before and Five had specifically told him not to linger too long.

 _Not yet._

Heaving a sigh, he glanced at his watch once again. His brother was taking his time it seemed. Time they didn’t have. 

_Crash!_

Five smirked and clenched his fits. It was about time. 

Across the street from him Deacon threw his magazine aside, rushing to catch the kid who just crashed two shelves together in his attempt to steal everything his arms could carry. Five smirked as Klaus let out a high pitched squeal and threw a toilet paper roll at the man and then skidded off to make his escape. Five waited just a few more seconds, waiting until the owner had left the store completely, his attention on Klaus now, before zapping himself at the candy aisle, a few shelves from the mess Klaus had made and he got to work.

“Please, Mister, you don’t understand!” Klaus’s voice carried in as Five began to grab all the candy off the shelf that he could and dump it in the bag slung around his shoulders. “I am but a mere street urchin in desperate need of nourishment and proper toiletries.” Five rolled his eyes and glanced over at his brother outside dressed in his academy uniform and looking very much like he doesn’t live on the streets.

“Oh, I understand,” the man snapped, taking a step toward Klaus. Five kept an eye on him as he grabbed a couple more Twix bars, they were Vanya’s favorite. “You think you can get away with stealing from me and making a mess of my store because you’re a kid?” He grabbed Klaus’ arm roughly and gave him a rough pull. Five glared at them and shoved the last candy bar into the bag.

“Oh,” Klaus giggled. “This is getting interesting,” Finished with his task, Five clenched his fits and deposited himself around the corner of the shop.

“I’m sure the police will think it’s very interesting,” Deacon snapped and started to drag Klaus back inside. “Let's go call-”

“Klaus!” Five called out as he jogged around the corner. Deacon stopped and frowned as Five came to a stop in front of them. “What’s going on?” Five asked, giving Klaus a serious look.

“I caught your little friend here shoplifting,” The few items that were still in Klaus’s arm, fell to the ground and Klaus did his best to look perfectly innocent. 

“Shoplifting?” Five gasped and shook his head disapprovingly. “What the hell Klaus?” Five stepped forward and took Klaus by the elbow and pulled him away from Deacon.

“I was just looking for a little excitement,” Klaus tried to defend himself. “No harm done!”

“No harm?” Deacon snapped. “What about the mess in my store?” Before Klaus could open his mouth and drag this thing on any longer, Five started pulling Klaus away and back to the ally he’d come from. 

“Thank you for stopping my _degenerate_ brother sir,” he said earnestly. Klaus’s jaw dropped and he placed a hand delicately on his chest. “Come on now, we’ll see what father has to say about this.” Five gave a nod to Deacon and shoved Klaus along a bit faster.

“No, not Father!” Klaus cried and waved his arms dramatically. “It will be the paddle for sure!” Deacon watched perplexed as Five yanked them around a corner and out of his sight.

“Idiot,” Five hissed, looking around, Deacon wasn’t following them and didn’t seem to be following through on his threat to call the police. It seemed they had gotten away. “You just had to distract the guy.” 

“But Fivey, I did,” Klaus said with an infectious smile. “What’d you get?” Five looked over his shoulder one more time and then the two ducked behind a dumpster. Opening the bag, Five smiled as he showed off the amount of candy he’d been able to steal thanks to Klaus’s distraction.

“Nice haul,” Klaus commented as he dug around in the bag. “We are geniuses.” 

“We?” Five scoffed which earned a smirk from Klaus. Five dropped it though, Klaus had been key to pulling off their little heist, though he wouldn’t be caught dead admitting to it. 

Sneaking out wasn’t new to the Hargreeves siblings. Since the age of ten, they snuck out for trips to Griddy’s for doughnuts. Sometimes, they would just walk the streets and enjoy the feeling of not being under the same roof as their father. This last year though, the trips started to happen less. After debuting to the world as a kid crime-fighting team, things had started to change and it was harder to get all seven of them to agree on where and when to go.

But Reginald was out of town for a few days, and sneaking out without the risk of getting caught by him did take away some of the fun sneaking out provided. So logically, Five concluded, shoplifting was the simplest solution. Nothing crazy, some candy for them all to enjoy and stick it to the old man in their way.

“Well, don’t mind if I do,” Klaus said lifting a Twix out of the bag and Five slapped it out of his hand.

“Those are for Vanya,” he said zipping the bag shut.

“ _Awww_ ,” Klaus cooed as the two started walking again. “That’s so considerate. If the others knew that you were just a hard candy filled with mushy goo inside they would just be beside themselves!” Five glared at him and Klaus dug around in his pockets and quickly pulled out a joint. Five shook his head and pulled the bag further up his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he had to remind himself why he had needed Klaus’s help tonight.

All seven of them going was out of the question Five had quickly decided. They would easily be recognized if they were all together. Plus, it was a miracle they could all get their growing ego’s in check to complete missions. Without the threat of harm, there was no way they could work together on anything. Five knew he couldn’t ask Luther. Number One would not stand for shoplifting. He would rather not even ask Allison. She would just use her powers and take all the fun out of it. Diego would be the biggest problem. As they got older, being number two was getting to him more and more. A bitterness was starting to edge the kindness out of his brother. He would only fight with Five on the plan and they would never make it out the door. Vanya and Ben were also out, their sweet natures would be no use to him. Klaus though, his eccentric and most annoying brother, was the perfect distraction. 

“You want?” Klaus asked holding up his joint and pulling out a lighter. 

“For the last time, no.” Five snapped. “And when are you going to cut that out? You know that dampens your powers.” Five wasn’t blind and Klaus was shit at hiding the weed and alcohol he was sneaking. There was no way Reginald didn’t know, but he didn’t seem to be in a rush to stop him.

“Yeah,” Klaus mumbled, the joint held tight between his lips. “That’s kind of the point.” Lighting it, he took a deep breath and a look of relief washed over him. Five pushed down the uncomfortable twist in his chest when he saw that look and let his disapproval come through instead.

“Maybe,” he started. “If you applied yourself a little more and let up on the weed then you could learn how to control your powers and learn more about them.” Five didn’t understand. Klaus was scared of the ghosts, he got that, but mastering his powers might offer him the way to not be scared anymore. Klaus was too vulnerable though, and their father did nothing to help that.

“Okay dad,” Klaus scoffed under his breath.

“ _Don’t_ ,” Five warned and Klaus rolled his eyes. Being compared to Reginald was the greatest insult any of the siblings could throw at each other, except to Luther of course.

“Look,” Klaus said. “Not all of us have super useful powers like you or Allison, or love knives as much as Diego. I mean look at Ben.” Five’s hand tightened around the strap of the bag as he thought about the dull ache in his kindest brother’s eyes that never went away, no matter how much he and Klaus had tried to cheer him up. 

“Besides,” Klaus said. “There is no controlling or learning more about my powers. They just suck.” He took a long drag on his joint and then grinned as he blew it in Five’s direction.

“I know there’s more to my powers,” Five said, swatting Klaus away from him. “I can feel it.”

“Right, right,” Klaus snorted and held his hands up.“Time travel!” He air quoted.

“Yes, _time_ _travel_ ,” Five snapped. “I know I can do it. the math is right there. Dad just thinks I’m a child.” Reginald was holding him back, Five could feel it. His equations weren’t wrong, but when faced with them, his father would act as if Five was incapable of this.

“ _You are not ready Number Five_.” He would boom, in his most dismissive tone and no more was to be said.

“Maybe that’s because you are a child?” Klaus suggested and Five shot him a glare.

“Shut up,” he said and tried to pull the joint out of Klaus’s mouth. Klaus sidestepped him though, and with a giggle, danced around to Five’s other side.

“Dad also said time travel can have weird side effects,” Klaus reminded him. “What if it messes with you and you come back and you don’t have control over your bowels anymore and you have to go back to wearing diapers? Then you’ll really be a child.” 

“That’s not going to happen,” Five said rolling his eyes.

“It could!”

“No it can’t,” Five snapped. “That isn’t even the kind of side effects-“

“I’m pretty sure it can” Klaus cuts him off.

“No, it can’t”

“Yes it-“

“Oh my god!” Five threw his hands up. “Is there really any question over who’s the child here?”

“We’re the same age,” Klaus smiled innocently and did a little skip as if in triumph. 

“Every day I find that harder and harder to believe.” Klaus laughed and reached out as if he was about to tackle him, but Five pushed him away and tried to hide his smile.

“Listen,” Klaus said after a moment. “Dad said time travel was dangerous.” Five looked to his brother and was surprised by the look of genuine concern on Klaus’s face. “Maybe, just this once, listen to him.” The facetious tone had dropped from Klaus’s voice and he chewed on his lip nervously as he waited for Five to respond.

“I’m not afraid,” Five pointed out as they both came to a stop under a street light.

“I didn’t say you were,” Klaus said quickly. One of his hands reached out and wrapped around Five’s wrist. “I’m just saying if something happened to you-“ Five didn’t let Klaus finish his sentence. He pulled himself away from that, and Klaus’s pleading eyes and appeared a few feet ahead. Dealing with emotions was never something Five was very good at and the ones he saw in Klaus’s eyes were the ones he ran from. He told himself he was stronger than Klaus for knowing this, but deep down, Five envied him for his open heart.

“You don’t need to worry, _Four_.” He said over his shoulder, walking briskly ahead. “Unlike you, I don’t run from my powers so I’ll know how to handle it.” Five clenched his hand into a fist, his heart pumping a little harder and he growled. Klaus always knew how to get under his skin when he didn’t need him too.

“You want me to drop it?” Klaus asked jogging to catch up with him. “You numbered me so I kind of get the feeling you want me to drop it.” 

“I want you to drop it!” Five exclaimed, shoulders hunching up. He was seconds away from jumping out of here and leaving Klaus to walk home on his own.

“Okay, okay,” Klaus relented and draped an arm around Five’s shoulders. Five groaned, but the tension inside him disappeared so he did not attempt to getaway. “I just want it to be known that I voiced my concerns about you coming back from the future in desperate need of pampers.” He pulled Five close for a moment, his smile turning manic. “I don’t do diapers.” Five shook his head and shoved Klaus away from him.

“You’re such an idiot,” 

“And you’re an asshole,” Klaus said brightly. “It’s why we get along.” Five smiled. He supposed, if he had to be stuck with a family, he could have done a lot worse.

“Okay, so the Twix bars are for Vanya, but can I have a Crunch bar?” Klaus asked poking at the bag. “I did risk life and limb to get these.” Talk quickly turned away from time travel and the rest of the walk home was candy and victory.

Two weeks later, Five was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Klaus never took Five’s obsession with time travel seriously. To be honest, there was very little he took seriously these days, but maybe he should have realized what was coming. That Five was so deep in his head, so determined to prove their father wrong, that he would do something stupid and reckless. Klaus should have known, stupid and reckless was practically the family motto.

It barely even registered on Klaus’s radar that Five had actually left. During his dinner tirade to their father, the kind that was increasingly becoming more frequent, Klaus had been more focused on the joint he was rolling and silently glad that Five was providing such a timely distraction. True brotherly solidarity he thought. He didn’t see Five run from the room or hear the door slam over his father’s shouts. He thought Five had just gone to his room to pout like he always did when he didn’t get his way. Klaus went back to his meal and didn’t even notice the worried glances his siblings were giving each other.

Later, when he finally got a chance to sneak away to smoke, he went to Five’s room. The attic was his normal go-to spot to smoke, but Allison and Luther were there. They were talking very seriously and Klaus wanted to avoid whatever that was. Five’s room was the next best choice. He had the room with the fire escape, the one they used to sneak out, and sure, Five would lecture him on his unsavory new habit. But then he would let it go and work on his math and let Klaus just be. 

Klaus didn’t find Five in his room though, he found Ben and Vanya talking in hushed tones by his desk.

“What’s going on?” Klaus asked, a smile spreading across his face. “Are we pulling a prank on Five?” One look at their faces and it was clear that Ben and Vanya were not plotting. Instead, they both wore worried expressions and Vanya had tears in her eyes.

“Five hasn’t come back yet,” Ben said, his hands twitching at his side. “And it’s getting late.” Vanya sniffled next to him and Ben took her hand. Klaus frowned.

“Back?” he asked. “Where did he go?” 

“At dinner, he left,” Vanya said, confusion replacing the worry in her eyes. “Don’t you remember?” 

“He left?” Klaus shook his head and then stepped between her and Ben to get to the window. “Wow, he must have been really pissed.” Klaus laughed and opened the window. Five was going to be in trouble when he got back. Lighting the joint, Klaus turned his back to his siblings and missed the hurt looks on their faces.

In the morning, when Five wasn’t trying to beat Diego and Allison to the bathroom first, Klaus assumed Five was still sleeping. After all, he must have gotten in late. Allison, Luther and Diego were standing together outside of the bathroom, all looking very serious.

“Is the hot water out again?” Klaus moaned walking up to them. You would think with all the money the old man had, their plumbing problems would be non-existent, but old buildings were difficult.

“Five never came home last night,” Allison said, her fingers nervously twisting around the gold heart necklace she wore around her neck.

“He stayed out all night?” Klaus was impressed. “I always thought I would be the first one to pull that stunt.” With a shake of his head, Klaus quickly turned to the bathroom. If they weren’t going to use it, Klaus was getting a hot bath this morning. He shut the door before the others could stop it and didn’t see the tension building.

It wasn’t until Ben got the courage to ask their father about Five that Klaus first felt worried.

“Number Five’s whereabouts are not any of your concern,” Reginald bellowed over them as they had been leaving the breakfast table. They had all stayed silent during the meal like they were supposed to, but Five’s empty seat was screaming out at them. “Pogo will be leading your training this morning.” He left and Klaus felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

What if Five was being punished? Reginald must have caught him sneaking back in and adding the fact he’d yelled and stormed out of dinner, Five would be punished pretty bad. Klaus pulled his arms around himself, a shiver going down his spine. Klaus knew that Five’s private training took place in the basement. He didn’t know specifics, they all kept that stuff to themselves, but knew Five would usually be unconscious after his training. Pushed past his limit, Mom would carry him to bed where he would sleep it off. 

Three more days went by and there was no sign of Five and Reginald had now forbidden them from asking about him. Klaus tried to ask Grace, but the response he got from his mother was something that only reminded him that she wasn’t human. The kind of thing that only Diego knew how to look past. Pogo wasn’t any help either. He insisted that Reginald was actively looking for Five and since he hadn’t lost hope, neither should they. Klaus knew that while Pogo was more caring and kind to them than their own father, the man literally give Pogo life. So Pogo always gave Reginald more credit than he deserved.

Luther, Diego, and Allison all suspected he ran away and would be back. Luther was convinced it was Five’s pride that drove him away. He couldn’t stand that he wasn’t number one and he left to prove himself. Soon he would be back, tail between his legs, and finally, have to admit he’s not better than them. Diego assumed it had to do with Reginald. Finally snapping, he ran off to make it on his own and prove their dad wrong. He’d fail, of course, and be back with a chip on his shoulder. Allison thought this was just a sad cry for attention. He was throwing a temper tantrum because Dad wouldn’t let him time travel, as if he could. He was probably at the park a block away and would be back when the temperature dropped.

Vanya and Ben both thought the worst. They knew how much Five believed he could time travel and how much he’d been working on it better than anyone. Ben was the only one in the family that understood most of Five’s math and he was sure Five could actually do it. He hoped that Five had done it and was safe somewhere. He worried that Five was stuck. Five didn’t like to admit to weakness, but his powers had their limits and maybe time travel was a one-way trip. Vanya’s biggest fear was that he was dead. Pulled about by time and space and erased from all existence. So she clung to Ben’s theory with all the hope she had left and started turning lights on after everyone had gone to bed. She left out sandwiches for him, his favorite, hoping Five would know that someone cared and he didn’t have to run away.

Klaus didn’t know what to think. Five could have just run away, Klaus wouldn’t even be surprised, but Five also wouldn’t have stayed away this long without at least contacting one of them. Five may act like he doesn’t care, and he might have some of their siblings fooled, but Klaus knows better. He knows that Five loves them, fiercely, and if he was going to run away, he’d make sure they could all getaway. 

Maybe he really did time travel. He whined about it enough, Klaus would hope he knew what he’d been babbling about. Ben’s idea made sense, and there was no one Klaus trusted more than Ben. Besides, Five being just gone and dead, he didn’t want to think about that. He’d been keeping himself as stoned as he could to block out the ghosts the past few days. If Five was dead, Klaus was not ready to see him as a ghost. If Five was one of the vague figures screaming at him across the room, he would just have to wait for Klaus to get the courage to face him.

Thinking about him stuck and alone wasn’t a comforting thought either, but it was the one that meant he was alive. So like Vanya, Klaus held on to that being where he was if he never came back.

A week after Five disappeared, Klaus was awoken in the middle of the night by Grace. 

“Klaus,” She said sweetly, running her hand through his hair to wake him up. “Your father has a very important task for you.” She wouldn’t tell him what it was. She didn’t even let him get dressed. She led him downstairs and then to the elevator that went to the basement level where most of their training took place. 

Klaus’s stomach sunk, maybe his first thought about Five being punished was right and he’d been locked in the basement for this whole week. Klaus shivered and stepped closer to Grace. A week locked up for sneaking out? Klaus began to rethink sneaking out again and then he realized why he was here. Reginald was going to rub Five’s mistake in his face as a warning. It was a sick move, but one that only his dear old dad would just love to do.

When he got to the training room, Five wasn't there and Reginald had other plans.

“Number Four,” Reginald addressed him as Klaus sat in a lone chair in the room. “You are going to contact Number Five.” Klaus paled and gripped the seat.  
  
“What?” he squeaked.

“Number Five was foolish,” Reginald said, he held his red notebook in his hand, he was scribbling things down even then, Finally looking up, his monocle catching in the fluorescent lighting, he looked directly at Klaus. “You are going to contact him in the spirit world, what other use would I have of you Number Four?” 

Normally that would have stung just a bit, though he was getting numb to Reginald’s insults, right now Klaus felt like he couldn’t breathe. Five was dead? Is that what Reginald was saying? Did he find him? The ghosts that surrounded him, though dulled, seemed to sense his distress. Like they’d found a chink in his armor, they wailed even louder as they clawed through his high to sink into his despair.

“What is-” Abruptly, Reginald’s face was close to Klaus, peering at his face. “You’ve been poisoning yourself again?” Klaus had no answer, his body shaking and the ghost screaming. He barely registered, being pulled to his feet and taken from the room. He barely noticed Grace as they passed her. Her face serene, she made no move to follow. 

The second Klaus was in the car he knew where they were going. Reginald told him he would stay in the mausoleum until his high wore off. Still clad only in his pajamas, the stone door slammed shut locking Klaus in with the cold November wind. Klaus curled up, his hands clamped over his ears and his eyes shut tight and began to scream.

It was morning when Reginald came back. Klaus lifted his head, his hands slipped off his head and he cleared his throat.

“He’s not dead,” Klaus croaked. “Five’s not dead.” It should have been good news, but Reginald was angry. He brought Klaus back to the basement where he spent the next three hours trying to conjure Five. His brother never came, the other ghosts though only screamed louder and brushed up against him. The longer they went on, the more scared he became, the more it seemed they could touch him.

But Five never came forward, and finally, Reginald dismissed Klaus just in time for dinner.

A week later, Reginald called them all together at the bottom of the stairs. They lined up by number, Klaus and Ben glanced awkwardly at each other over the missing space, and Reginald led them into the other room. Above the fireplace was a large oil painting of Five. Six sets of eyes snapped to Reginald, questions bounding around that they knew they weren’t supposed to ask.

“Number Five has done something foolish and dangerous,” Reginald said coldly. “Like Icarus, he let his pride get the better of him and now he is gone.” Vanya gasped and Reginald glared her way. “Let us remember your lost brother by not making his mistakes.” He took a moment to look at all of them, lock eyes and let his lesson sink in. Disobey him, and you end up dead. Klaus clenched his hands into fists at his side and anger started to replace all his sadness. Five was alive. Klaus knew he was, Reginald knew he was, but he was just going to abandon him to prove a point. While the rest of his siblings started to scatter, to either comfort each other or act like they didn’t care, Klaus glared at Reginald. Once everyone was gone, he stepped forward.

“Does this mean you aren’t going to look for him?” Klaus asked, gesturing to the painting. Reginald squinted down at him, his frown deepened and Klaus could see the disgust in his eyes.

“There is nothing to look for,” he finally said, snapping his eyes away from Klaus. “It would be a pointless endeavor, the probability of Number Five’s survival should he have time-traveled is very low and I’m not going to waste any time looking for something that isn’t there. There are more important matters and ultimately, Number Five’s death is no great loss.” Klaus could feel himself start to shake, his heart was pounding in his chest, and he had to swallow down a sob that was threatening to come out. How this man could say these things about a thirteen-year-old boy Klaus would never know. Just when he thought he saw the true depths of his father’s cruelty, a whole new level was discovered.

“Five isn’t dead,” Klaus said, with more strength in his voice than he thought he had. “Maybe he’s stuck and he needs help. We can’t just leave him!” Five being gone mattered despite what Reginald said. To Klaus, it was a loss he couldn’t face. 

“There will be no more discussion about this Number Four,” Reginald said stepping closer to him, anger pouring off of him. 

“You know he’s alive!” Klaus accused, not backing down. “You just don’t want to admit that a kid was able to do something you couldn’t control!“ The slap that followed surprised Klaus more than it should. Physical violence in that way was never Reginald’s style. Sadistic mind games, putting his children in dangerous situations and gold medal level neglect were much more his wheelhouse. Klaus searched his father’s face for a hint of regret or guilt, or even anger and satisfaction, but like always, there was none.

“I will only say this one more time,” Reginald said coldly. “There will be no more discussion about this, Number Four.” With one final glare, Reginald walked away, the door to his office slammed shut a few moments later, and Klaus closed his eyes.

Opening them, tears fell down his cheeks. He looked at the godawful painting of his brother and a wave of grief washed over him. He was out there somewhere, maybe by choice and maybe not, but at that moment Klaus knew it didn’t matter. Klaus was never going to see his brother again. Sinking down on the couch Klaus thought once again, he should have seen this coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos!! I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you stick around for more!!
> 
> Let me know what you think!!

**Author's Note:**

> As I said, this is going to be a part of a much bigger story I am writing so there is more to come. I am notoriously bad at tagging so if there is something I missed or any suggestions please share! Let me know what you think!!


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